Hillsborough Law – Implications for independent sector providers

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2025, better known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’, was finally laid before Parliament on 16 September 2025.

At its core the Bill seeks to ensure that public authorities and officials act in the public interest and with candour, transparency and frankness. The Bill contains a number of measures including: seeking to enable parity of participation for members of the public in inquiries and inquests (including through the provision of legal aid); and creating new statutory offences for public authorities and public officials of misconduct in public office and misleading the public.

However, perhaps the greatest prominence to date has been given to the Bill creating a new statutory “duty of candour and assistance” in the course of interacting with inquiries and investigations.  Particularly given the backdrop in terms of the Hillsborough disaster, much of the focus on the Bill has been on the impact, and new duties this will impose on, public bodies. However, in the context of the duty of candour and assistance when dealing with inquiries and investigations, the Bill also has implications for independent sector organisations including providers of healthcare and adult social care.

Impact on Independent Sector Providers 

The Bill specifies that the duty of candour and assistance in the context of inquiries and investigations, applies not only to public authorities and public officials, but also to others with “relevant public responsibility”. This is defined as including any person involved in an incident or particular events with health and safety duties towards members of a public, or any person carrying out duties as a “service provider” under a direct contract with a public authority.  Accordingly, under the terms of the Bill, independent sector health and social care providers providing services commissioned by NHS or local authority commissioners will be subject to the duty of candour and assistance in relation to inquiries and investigations covered by the Bill.

Which Inquiries and Investigations are Caught?

The Bill makes it clear that, at the outset, the duty of candour and assistance will apply to the following:

• public inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005;
• non-statutory inquiries called for by Ministers with the intention of producing a published report; and
• Coroners’ investigations and inquests 

The duties created by the Bill will extend to any inquiry or investigation which is ongoing at the date the Bill becomes law.

What is the Duty of Candour and Assistance 

The duty is effectively two fold:

• A proactive duty to notify the person leading an inquiry/ investigation where the entity has grounds to believe its conduct may be relevant to the investigation, or that it holds information which is likely to be relevant; and
• A reactive duty, upon receipt of a compliance direction in a relevant inquiry/ investigation, to:
  • provide relevant information;
  • draw attention to any information of particular significance; and 
  • provide a position statement – setting out their position on matters relevant to the inquiry or investigation

The duty will not, however, require a body to disclose, or do, anything which would breach any prohibition or restriction under any other enactment or rule of law. In the context of regulated healthcare settings, therefore, where safety incidents have the potential for prosecution by CQC, the interplay between the duty of candour and assistance, and the privilege against self-incrimination will need to be considered very carefully. 

Criminal Sanctions 

Under clause 5 of the Bill, a failure, whether deliberate or reckless,  to comply with the duty of candour and assistance can result in criminal prosecution and a sanction of up to 2 years imprisonment.  There was also provision that prosecutions for failure to comply with the duty can be pursued not only against the organisation, but also against its directors and senior managers if the failure is due to their consent or connivance.

Further Extensions 

The Bill also includes provision for the duty of candour and assistance to be extended in the future to apply to other types of investigations - namely, criminal investigations, regulatory or supervisory investigations, or investigations into the provision of public services or public functions. 

Conclusions

It is clear that the Bill could have significant implications on the duties which entities have to participate in relevant inquiries and investigations not only for public bodies, but also independent providers across the health and social care sector. 

It will be important for providers to follow the progress of the Bill, and what this will mean for their role and approach to participation in inquiries and inquests going forward.